Recoome grinned as he prepared to take on Vegeta. He didn't even look upset that Guldo was just killed in front of his eyes. "Alright Vegeta, don't go boring me. I want to have some fun before I kill you." He then looked past Vegeta at 4 earthlings. "If you want, you guys can join too."
"Oi, Recoome!" called out Jeice. "Those talls ones belong to me and Burter. And with Guldo dead, that means we get the short ones too! Don't go stealing our kills!"
Tien glared at the remaining 3 members of the Ginyu Force as they make him sound like sport and nothing more. Yamcha was a little shaken up by how dangerously calm those guys were being, though he did his best to keep his composure. Krillin was a bit of a mix between the 2, though wasn't able to keep much composure. Gohan was gripping his shirt as that anger of his just wouldn't stop trying to act up, being pretty distracting to keep in under control.
Vegeta was tired of being treated like a joke. He started powering up, his screams getting louder the stronger he was getting. His increasing power was alerting the Ginyu Forces' scouters. Once he finished his charging up, he rushed at Recoome at max speed, He threw a punch that knocked Recoome back and threw the scouter off his face. The saiyan then flew around his opponent and gripped his hands together to deal a heavy hit to Recoome's head before the guy landed from being knocked back. The prince then slammed his knees against Recoome's chest and grabbed his leg. Vegeta proceeded to chuck Recoome into a rock and spread his arms out, collecting energy in each hand before bringing them together and firing a massive beam at Recoome, creating a large explosion.
The earthlings had to try and avoid being thrown back by the forceful wind created from the explosion. As a large cloud of dust covered where Recoome was, everyone assumed that Vegeta had actually succeeded in killing Recoome, and in such a short amount of time too. It didn't take long to sense Recoome's energy was still there. Once the dust cleared, they could see Recoome had a couple of scratches and a little blood dripping from his mouth but other than that, he was unaffected at all. His armor was destroyed however and the elastic fabric underneath the armor was pretty torn up.
"Heh, not bad Vegeta. Now it's my turn. Recoome Kick!" Recoome the launched himself at Vegeta with blinding speed, ramming his knee against the saiyan's jaw and launching the prince back. Vegeta managed to catch himself midair and rushed at Recoome, throwing a flurry of punches. Recoome managed to block every attack and retaliated with an elbow downwards onto Vegeta's head. He tried to follow up with a punch with his other arm but Vegeta flew away in time, but Recoome followed behind him.
Vegeta sped up and fired an energy blast at Recoome. Recoome sped up even more to dodge, popping up beside Vegeta and kicking him down into the water. Vegeta waited a moment for Recoome to drop his guard before flying up and slamming his fists into Recoome's stomach. Recoome pretended to be hurt for a moment but proceeded to grab Vegeta's side, flying down to the ground at high speed to pull off a devastating pile driver. After the attack, Vegeta's upper body was lodged inside the ground.
Recoome grabbed onto Vegeta's leg and plucked him out like a vegetable. "Hey Vegeta, you haven't gone and died on me yet, have you? I told you not to bore me."
Vegeta opened his eyed and fired an energy blast right into Recoome's face, causing the brute to drop him and flew back against the ground. As Vegeta struggled to get back up, Recoome got back up quite easily.
The earthlings just watched in horror, watching as nothing Vegeta was doing was working. "What kind of monster is he?" asked Tien, shaking as he came to the realization that if Vegeta couldn't do anything to this guy, what could the 4 of them do against the other 2 who were just spectating.
"Guys, I think we have no choice but to fight. If we work together, we might be able to stall out this fight long enough for Goku and Piccolo to arrive." said Krillin, sweating a bit as he wasn't sure if they'd be able to do this. "Though after witnessing that, I'm not sure even Goku can handle this guy." They watched as Recoome started to prepare for an attack called the Recoome Erasure Gun and was about to fly out to attack Recoome and save Vegeta when an unknown energy blast came flying out from behind them and hit Recoome square in the face.
To literally everyone's surprise, the blast had came from Nappa, who had shown up while everyone was distracted from the fight. He stepped forward past the earthlings and then past Vegeta. "Step down, Vegeta. Leave the grunt work to me."
"Is that Nappa?" asked Burter. "I thought lord Freeza said he was dead."
"Either he came back from the dead or he was hiding away the whole time." answered Jeice. "Doesn't matter though, scouters say his power level is just as high as Vegeta's.
Recoome got up and wiped some blood off his face. "Well that was surprising. Hey, you don't mind if I take him on too, do you?" He turned his head to ask his companions.
"Go ahead. Won't be any fun for us anyway." answered Jeice.
Recoome grinned and turned his head back, only to be met by a brutish punch by the saiyan elite, knocking some of Recoome's teeth out. Recoome stumbled as the punch really hurt and put his hand to his mouth, seeing a good amount of blood. He clenched his fist and smiled as he might find some fun in this yet.
Vegeta on the other hand was in pure shock as Nappa managed to do that kind of damage to Recoome in a single hit while everything he had didn't manage to do anything. How the hell did he do that?! What did he do to acquire that much power in such a short amount of time. Have I really let my own underling surpass me?! What Vegeta doesn't know is that Nappa got this strong by staying behind.
Not too long ago, back at the Grand Elder's place, Nappa was given permission to step inside and meet with him. "So this is the eldest namekian. Can't say I'm surprised or impressed."
"Watch it saiyan. The Grand Elder has accepted your offer to have you healed. Be grateful that a barbarian like you is being given this honor." growled Nail, preparing to fight if it was necessary.
The Grand Elder raised up his hand to command Nail to stop from doing anything rash. "I sense much evil in your heart. You show no guilt for those that you kill."
Nappa couldn't help but chuckle. "Hit the nail right on the head. I'm a saiyan, I don't care for anyone but myself."
The Grand Elder continued to speak, and his next words would put a little shock into Nappa. "Evil is not the only thing I sense however. I sense loyalty, pride to prove yourself. I also sense jealousy."
Nappa grit his teeth. "Jealousy? The other 2 I can get, but me? Jealous? What the hell would I have to be jealous of?!" He went a bit silent as he felt the Grand Elder's hand placed on top of him.
The Grand Elder not only healed Nappa's injuries, but also took a look into his memories. "I see. So this Raditz person is the source."
Nappa could feel his blood boil as he was being told that he was jealous of Raditz. "Did you just read my mind?! My thoughts belong to me, not some overweight slug! Especially the ones about Raditz!"
"You're upset that you didn't get to settle things with him, aren't you?" When Nappa refused to answer, the Grand Elder continued to speak. "What if I told you that the earthlings came here to revive the person you wish to fight once more."
Nappa went wide-eyed and stared up at the Grand Elder, feeling some sort of weight lifted from him. "So that's why they want the namekian dragon balls. If the dragon balls here can grant 3 wishes, that's just enough to bring him back to life and get me and Vegeta immortality. Alright, now that I'm healed, I'm leaving."
"Wait." ordered the Grand Elder. "If you're going to help them, perhaps I could increase your odds."
Nail turned to the Grand Elder, looking both angry and scared. "Grand Elder, certainly you aren't planning on unlocking this man's hidden potential?! He killed an entire village!"
"You're right to have doubts, but I am willing to put my faith in him. His sense of loyalty won't allow him to betray the other saiyan. And I'm sure his pride will allow the earthlings the chance to make their wish." said the Grand Elder.
Nappa clenched his fist as he stared at the ground, feeling uncomfortable about the namekian talking about him like that. On the other hand, his saiyan was was surging with excitement at the chance to fight with Raditz again. "Alright. If you think this little trick of yours will give me a better chance, then let's see it."
Back in the present moment, Recoome and Nappa just stared off into each other's eyes before they rushed at each other. Recoome landed a punch against Nappa's cheek while Nappa's punch landed against Recoome's stomach. Both of them stumbled back but immediately recovered and went for another blow, this time Recoome landed a kick against Nappa's leg while Nappa landed an open palm strike against Recoome's chest, launching Recoome back. Recoome didn't back down as he rushed in and locked hands with Nappa, trying to bend his hands back and push him back.
Nappa chuckled as this was all too familiar. He tightened his grip and started surrounding his hands in his energy. The energy began to crackle and Recoome's gloves started to rip apart. "How does this feel? It's a nifty little technique I just learned how to do on the spot."
Recoome winces as this unusual attack was really starting to hurt his hands. He tried to let go and escape but Nappa's tight grip wouldn't allow it. "S-Stupid saiyan. I'll make you regret this." He prepares to fire a Recoome Erasure Gun attack, collecting energy in his mouth.
When Nappa saw this, he prepared to build up energy in his mouth as well. Both fighters launched their beams at each other and the resulting explosion was enough to knock everyone back. Both warriors who were in the dead center of the explosion were now several feet apart and struggling to get up. Nappa looked like he could still fight while Recoome was having trouble breathing and clutching his chest.
"Wha.. What happened to you? Why can't I beat you?" asked Recoome. From all the reports they'd heard about, Vegeta was supposed to be leagues above the other saiyans, and yet here he is, fighting on equal if not on better terms than Recoome while Vegeta could barely do much damage.
Nappa simply walked forward, a glare in his eye as he approached Recoome that had Recoome looking a little scared. When Recoome threw a punch, Nappa dodged it and landed a sucker punch against Recoome's stomach and then grabbing the fabric over his chest. "All these years, I'd preyed upon only the weak. A saiyan of my age should have used my experience better, but I got sloppy. What you're looking at is a true saiyan elite." He raised his fist to deal the final blow, but saw something in the distance that caught his attention.
Recoome used this chance to back away and looked to see what the saiyan was looking at when the saiyan didn't even respond to his escape.
"Oi, is that a spaceship?" asked Jeice, pretty much being a commentator at this point.
Krillin looked ecstatic to see the ship and sense 2 familiar energy coming from it. "There's no doubt about it! It's Goku!"
The ship that landed started opening its door, allowing for both Piccolo and Goku to see the planet Namek. Piccolo was filled with a surge of emotion and nostalgia as he looked upon the surface of Namek. Meanwhile, Goku was reading out the energy of the few amount of people on Namek, trying to locate his friends.
"Ah, I got 'em. They're all okay. Though they're near some other incredibly strong energy. Though one of them is getting weaker by the second. Think that's good or bad, Piccolo?" asked Goku as he turned to Piccolo, who snapped out of his trance.
"If it isn't any of those 4, then we don't have to worry about that person's well being. We should still hurry. Things might turn bad if we aren't quick." answered Piccolo. After Goku nodded, they both flew off to go help the Z-warriors.
In less than a minute, both of them had arrived, shocking everyone by how fast they went, including Burter. Vegeta looked a little stiff as for a brief moment, he could feel the insane amount of energy the 2 of them had.
The earthlings looked happy to see Goku and ran to him, surrounding him and Piccolo. "Goku, oh man is it great to see you!" shouted Krillin.
While the others were asking questions and proclaiming just how happy they were to see both of them, Goku and Piccolo were looking at Vegeta and Nappa, wondering why Vegeta looked badly hurt and why Nappa looked like he was fighting the other guys just standing there. "Hey Krillin, what's up with them? Aren't those guys with the saiyans?" asked Goku.
While the earthlings tried explaining the situation to Goku, Recoome figured this was the perfect time to pull off his ultimate attack. "Recoome! Ultra! Fighting!-"
Nappa caught on quick to what Recoome was about to pull. He realized he had been instinctively gathering energy to his hand since the little struggle with Recoome earlier. He figured he might as well put it to use and improvise a new technique. He formed 2 fingers and shot his fingers upwards. Normally this attack would create a large explosion, though this time it created a pillar of energy shooting out from underneath Recoome like a geyser. Once this geyser attack faded, Recoome was standing motionless, his entire body completely singed, smoke coming off his possibly dead body.
Jeice and Burter looked in horror at the fate of their comrade. "D-Did that really just happen? Did Recoome really just kick the bucket? Burter, check him with the scouter. I think I'm suffering from shock."
Burter used his scouter to check Recoome's power level, going wide-eyed at the reading her got. "He.. His power's at zero. Recoome just got killed by.. By a saiyan."
"We gotta report this to the captain." said Jeice. He reached up to turn on the comms of his scouter when a beam shot at him and landed right on the scouter, busting it. Another beam came and broke Burter's scouter as well.
Piccolo had one hand up with his finger pointing at the 2 of them. "You're not contacting anyone. If you run, I'll strike you before you can get a mile out."
Goku looked at Vegeta and pulled out the bag of senzu beans. "Here, you helped my son and best friend out. You deserve it."
Vegeta took the bean and looked at it. He wasn't sure what Kakarot was planning with it but figured he might as well eat it. He ate the senzu bean and in no time at all, every injury he'd suffered in his fight against Recoome had completely vanished. Not only that, but he didn't feel hungry at all anymore.
"Hey Kakarot!" called out Nappa, getting the attention of the saiyan from Earth. "Think you can spare one of those things? I'm a little winded from fighting Recoome."
Goku stared at the saiyan elite and could tell there was something different about him since the last time they met. "Sure, though I'd suggest hanging onto it. They'll heal all your injuries." said Goku as he tosses a senzu bean at Nappa.
Nappa catches the bean and looks at it. He puts it into the tight fold of where his tail forms a belt. He then turns to face Jeice and Burter. "So, which one of you are next?"
Piccolo walks up and holds his arm out in front of Nappa. "Let me take care of them. I didn't train for a week to spectate."
Nappa growled but let the namekian do as he pleased. If anything, the namekian will get pulverized and then he'll get his turn anyway.
"A-Are they making fools out of us?" asked Burter, getting frustrated.
"I think they are. I think it's time we show off what the Ginyu Force can really do!" shouted Jeice.
The 2 of them then rushed at Piccolo, Burter zooming ahead to strike a kick to the namekian's head while Jeice aimed a punch for his midsection. Piccolo managed to dodged both of these attacks with ease and extended his arms to grab each of them by the ankle, swinging them around and lets them go, tossing them into a mountain.
Both of them came flying out the other side and grit their teeth as they decided to use this chance to formulate a strategy. Meanwhile, Piccolo was able to hear the whole thing due to his excellent hearing. The 2 of them came flying from above the mountain. Jeice created a Crusher Ball and Burter used his incredible speed to kick it at Piccolo. Piccolo stopped the ball with just one hand and smirked, firing it back with his own energy along with it. They both managed to dodge it but failed to notice Piccolo right above them.
Piccolo aimed both his hands downwards at them and fired beams at each of them, mimicking Raditz's attack. Jeice and Burter got caught in the attack and were hurled at the ground, struggling to get up as the namekian wasn't holding back at all. Piccolo chuckled as he pressed 2 fingers to his forehead, gathering energy to perform a Special Beam Cannon.
Jeice grunted as he looked up, an ominous feeling of dread emanating from the namekian. "B-Burter. We gotta get outta here. We're no match for this monster!"
"You're right. We have to tell the captain." said Burter. He fired an energy blast at Piccolo and then then attempted to book it.
Piccolo simply swatted the attack back at Jeice before the red alien could attempt to escape as well. He kept his sights on Burter and smirked. "It may not be full power, but it's enough. Special Beam Cannon!" He fired a spiraling beam at Burter, the beam quickly catching up.
Jeice coughed from the smoke caused by the attack Piccolo swatted at him. Once the smoke cleared, he saw the beam coming for Burter. "Burter! Get out of the way!"
But it was too late. Before Burter could turn around to see what was going on, the beam pierced through his back and shot out his chest. He trembled for a couple of seconds before going stiff and falling into the water.
Goku looked up at Piccolo with a pretty angry look. "Piccolo! What are you doing?! There was no reason to kill him!"
Piccolo looked at Goku as he lowered himself back down. "Your softness continues to astound me. If he'd ran away, he would have alerted Freeza, and then our element of surprise is gone."
Jeice watch the 2 of them argue. He slowly backed up, approaching the water. He figured he'd be able to escape through that route. As he was backing up, he feld his back bump into something. Before he could turn his head to look, 2 hands grabbed the sides of his head and violently snapped his neck.
"Hey Vegeta, looks like all we have to worry about now are Ginyu and Freeza!" shouted Nappa as he let go of Jeice's corpse.
Everyone looked at Nappa in horror as he just killed the Ginyu Force member. Even Vegeta was petrified at just how strong he'd gotten. He was sure that he'd have caught up thanks to the boost he got from recovering from the fight with Recoome, but he was still infuriated that the man who'd served under him his whole life had surpassed him.
"I don't want to change the subject, but it needs to be addressed. Freeza still has the dragon balls." said Tien, reminding everyone of the real problem.
"That's right. Ginyu brought all 7 dragon balls to him which means he's already immortal. The best we can do now is hope we never come across him." said Vegeta, clenching his fist as everything he'd worked for has been for nothing.
"Actually, we're completely fine." Yamcha spoke up, having more experience with the dragon balls than anyone here besides Goku. "If these dragon balls are anything like the ones on Earth, then the sky would have gone dark the moment the dragon was summoned. It's been light out the entire time we were here, so they might not know the right way to bring out the dragon."
"So what you're saying is that we still have have a chance to get all 3 wishes granted?" asked Nappa as he walked up to the others.
"Huh? 3 wishes? You mean it isn't just one?" asked Goku, looking genuinely surprised at this news.
"Yeah, I think that namekian with the Grand Elder said something about 3 wishes too." said Yamcha.
They lingered on this subject for a couple minutes. After those minutes, they felt a rather strong energy approaching them. "Great, looks like Ginyu's on his way here. Took him long enough." said Vegeta. He smirked as that meant that Freeza's ship was left completely unguarded.
"This Ginyu guy feels pretty strong. I'll be the one to take him on this time." said Goku. He turned to his friends. "You guys go grab the dragon radar and find the dragon balls. Once you do, wish Raditz back and we can all get out of here."
Before anyone could argue, Gohan flew off to where Bulma was. All he could really think about was seeing his uncle Raditz again. The others figured they may as well and flew off to where Bulma was, leaving the Goku, Piccolo and the saiyans to face off against Ginyu.
Ginyu landed less than a minute later and looked around, seeing the burnt remains of Recoome, the decapitated body of Guldo and the lifeless body of Jeice around the area. "I can't believe it. All of my men." He faced the group of 4 and glared at them. "So you're the ones who did this, huh? Wait, Nappa? I thought you were dead."
Vegeta chuckled. "Yes, yes. Nappa's alive. It was all a part of my plan. Now, if you don't mind. I have business to attend to. Let's go, Nappa!" He then flew off over Ginyu straight to Freeza's ship.
Nappa watched as Vegeta just bailed on Kakarot and immediately knew what he was thinking. "Good luck, Kakarot. You'll need it." He then flew after Vegeta.
"Want me to go after them?"asked Piccolo, keeping an eye on the saiyans.
"No, let them go. They can't cause any trouble for us right now." said Goku, turning his focus back on Ginyu.
Ginyu used his scouter to measure the power levels of the fighters in front of him. "What?! A power level of 5000?! Either this thing's busted or you're holding back. There's no way you killed all my men with such a measly power level."
"To be fair, I didn't lay a single hand on them. One was already dead when I got here, Nappa killed 2 of them and Piccolo here killed the blue one." said Goku honestly.
Ginyu looked furious at this confession but couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I admire your honesty. But if all your little friends left and even the saiyans left you here, that means you're the strongest, am I right?"
Goku chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Well I don't know about that. I do know I've definitely improved during my training, so I'm excited to see just how much."
Ginyu chuckled at Goku, finding the strange person amusing. "You wish to test your strength against the illustrious Captain Ginyu? You continue to grow fascinating. Very well, let us see if you're worthy of facing me."
Goku got into his traditional fighting stance while Piccolo flew a good distance a way so he wouldn't interrupt the fight. Ginyu rushed Goku and threw a punch at him, only to be dodged by the saiyan. The 2 of them went on for quite a while throwing punches and kicks at each other and dodging all of the attacks. It wasn't until Goku finally landed a punch that Ginyu decided to back away.
"I get it now. You're able to suppress your power level, aren't you? Not everyday I meet someone able to do the same as me." said Ginyu, suddenly powering up and surprising both Goku and Piccolo. He then fired a ball of energy at Goku
Goku manages to dodge, though having to try a little harder to do so. He went to land a kick at Ginyu's head only for the alien to duck. They then got into a skirmish of blows between each other, both sides barely able to land a hit on each other and the ones that did land weren't direct hits. Ginyu decided to fly up to prepare for an attack only for Goku to fly past him, shocking the captain.
Goku started charging up a Kamehameha and fired it. Captain Ginyu looked astonished by the technique and fired a powerful energy blast to counter it, resulting in an intense explosion and shockwave that parted the water underneath them.
Ginyu panted for breath as he hadn't gotten this serious in a while. "I'm impressed. I never imagined I'd ever meet a lone warrior capable of giving me such a workout. But tell me, is that all of your power? You're reserving your strength to fight against lord Freeza, aren't you?"
Goku was breathing a little heavily too, having underestimated this guy. "Yeah, I am actually. I was hoping to finish things quickly, but I guess I'll have to go all out if I'm gonna do this." He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. After a moment of anticipation, he opened his eyes. "Kaio-Ken times 2!" At that moment, his power shot up dramatically.
Ginyu chuckled as he didn't comprehend what he was witnessing until he consulted his scouter, his face turning a lighter shade of purple as the scouter said the saiyan's power was constantly rising, eventually capping out at 200,000. "W-Wha?! How is this possible?!"
Goku stopped using the Kaio-Ken and dropped his power back to 5000. "I'll warn you now, that's nothing compared to what I can do in split-second bursts. There's no chance in beating me. You should leave now before that Freeza guy thinks you're too weak."
Ginyu was shocked as this warrior was admitting that wasn't even his max power. He then began to laugh. "You're telling me to leave? I think think you're understanding what hole you just dug yourself. Now that you've shown me your power, I think I'll take that power for my own."
Whoo, a chapter done that I can be proud of. I don't think I need to explain why I feel proud of this chapter. I know the moment Ginyu changes bodies with Goku would be an even better point to leave off on, but I do need material to help stretch out the next chapter, as I know exactly where I'm gonna leave it off. Not a lot to say for this chapter except I'm a little disappointed that I can't find any good moments to give Tien and Yamcha. Part of me wishes I'd just left them behind but oh well, damage already done. The next chapters to come though. Oh boy is this gonna be a fun time. Expect the next chapter this Friday. Happy Thanksgiving in advance for all you americans. That's all from this author. Tune in for the next chapter of Dragon Ball Z: A Saiyan's Tail.